Chapter Text
He’s tall, broad with thick muscles, and standing by himself at the restaurant bar. She clocked him almost immediately when he had first walked in and she’s been sneaking glances at him ever since. Even though she was on a date herself and the man looked like he was clearly waiting for someone, she just couldn’t take his eyes off of him.
That was a man. A real man.
Abby felt something stir inside her gut as she kept looking at the man. She watched as he checked his watch, a cute little frown appearing on his lips. Whoever he was waiting for must be late. Shame. Why would anyone be late meeting this man. And suddenly Abby has the urge to go talk to him. To reassure him that whoever is no doubt standing him up was the loser. But…she was on a date.
Looking over at the empty chair across from her, Abby sighs.
Buck was a sweetheart, he really was. He was also very handsome, but a much cuter type of good looking full of boyish charm and swagger. Even though it took many, many phone calls on Abby’s end to finally get the younger man to accept her dinner invitation, Abby knew without a doubt that Buck was also the impulsive type. Just from the way he walked—strutted really—she knew he was definitely more of the leap before you think type. Which was perfectly fine. Abby wanted Buck exactly because he was a guy who was up for anything, including sex with a much older, attractive woman (though Abby likes to think she looked younger than she actually is). But he was still just that, a boy. Compared to the man at the bar…Abby wasn’t so sure Buck could measure up.
Buck was fun and fun to be around.
But that man? He was the commitment type.
Abby glances up at the man again, her eyes tracing him up and down, taking in the way his arm muscles bunch as he moves to lean his elbows on the bar top. She can feel her heart rate increase at the thought of those arms around her. Then her eyes shift to the still empty chair before her.
She shouldn’t.
She was on a date, with a very sweet guy.
But Buck was still in the bathroom after the waitress had spilled some wine on him. It hasn’t been that long since he’d gotten up to clean himself up a bit. However, they had also already eaten dinner, so the date was on its tail end anyway.
She looks at the man again.
And then Abby is standing up and moving towards the bar.
“Hi.” She greets him as she slides into the vacant spot next to him.
He looks around him, confused and a little startled. Then his crystal blue eyes land directly on Abby and, wow, he’s even better looking up close. Abby smiles her most enticing smiles as she leans her body towards his.
“Hi?” The little furrow between his brows was so cute Abby wanted to reach up and smooth it out with her thumb. “Are you talking to me?”
“Oh, haha, I’m really usually not this forward,” Abby laughs softly, hand covering her mouth in a coquettish manner. “But I saw you earlier looking a bit down and thought you might want some company.”
“I’m just—”
“I’m Abby.”
The man simply stares at her and Abby smiles, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. He’s probably not used to women being so forward, but Abby has had enough life experience to know when to go after what she wants. And she wants this man standing right in front of her. He looks like the sturdy, responsible type who will help take care of her and her ailing mother.
“You still haven’t told me your name yet.” She says flirtatiously, twisting her body just a touch closer and puts a hand on his arm. Those muscles look just as hard as she thought they would be. She’s imagining being picked up in those arms, literally swept off her feet.
“Um…Tommy.”
Tommy? Abby can hardly believe her ears. Here was a very, very attractive man standing before her and he happens to have the same name as her last boyfriend? Clearly this was fate. She was meant to meet this man. She runs her eyes subtly over his body and can’t help but imagine it with less clothes and hovering on top of her. Oh, this Tommy was like an upgraded version of her old Tommy. More muscles, more handsome, more everything.
“Well, Tommy, can I buy you a drink?” Abby turns to wave over the bartender, but movement next to her catches her attention.
Tommy is looking down at his phone and texting someone. Whoever it is, it brought a soft smile on to his face and Abby thinks it makes him look even more handsome. She hopes that one day, she’ll be the one to bring that smile to his face.
“Excuse me. I have to go.” He tells her just as she’s about to ask if he wanted a whiskey. He looked like a man who would drink a tumbler of whiskey as a daily nightcap.
“Uh, here’s my number!” She quickly jots down her number on a spare napkin and moves to give it to him, but Tommy was already out of range of her arm. He was already halfway out the door, leaving Abby standing at the bar with a piece of napkin dangling from her fingers.
She sighs. Walking back to her table, a little dejected. Maybe she’ll get lucky and see him again. After all, what were the chances that Abby would find another man also named Tommy in a city as big as Los Angeles. They were clearly destined to meet, especially given the fact that Abby was also the one to insist on coming to this particular restaurant. Clearly something drew her here. Smiling, she moves to sit down at the table, only to notice that all the dishes have been removed.
Confused, she waves over a waiter and asks about it.
“The gentleman you were with paid the bill already.”
Her smile widens. Buck really was very sweet, paying for the date without prompting. If only he were older and more mature, Abby thinks, her mind already going back thinking about Tommy. That was the kind of person she could see herself being in a long term commitment with. Still smiling, Abby clutches her purse close to her body and makes her way out of the restaurant, turning right to head to her car.
Buck comes back to the table, a purple-red stain standing out starkly against the white of his shirt, and the damp fabric rubbed uncomfortably against his skin. He sighs. At least they’ve basically finished eating when the waitress tripped and spilled a glass of red wine on him. Oh well, it’s not like Abby will mind a little stain on his shirt. She’s been pretty nice the entire time he’s known her—granted that’s mostly over the phone when he’s with dispatch or whenever she called him.
But, the table was empty when he arrived, only a check on the table alongside mostly empty plates. He was sure he left Abby at the table when he excused himself to the bathroom, yet she was nowhere in sight right now. If this was anyone else or if this was even a date, Buck would think he had been ghosted or taken advantage of. But it was just Abby, so most likely she had to rush home because something must have come up with her mom.
As a firefighter, Buck was well acquainted with sudden emergencies, especially when there were elderly family members involved.
Shrugging to himself, he calls a waiter over to pay for the meal.
Sure, he hadn’t planned to pay for an entire meal, thinking they’d likely split the check as it was just a friendly night out. But one meal would hardly break the bank for him, even on a probationary firefighter’s salary. At least the meal was good, though he wished they’d had time for some dessert. He always craved something sweet after a nice meal.
Maybe, he can convince his lovely boyfriend to stop by the store to pick some up on the way home.
Which…speaking of. Buck pulls out his phone as he starts walking out of the restaurant and pulls up the text thread between Tommy and him.
you here yet? i’m outside waaaaiting 🥺
right behind you, baby
Buck spins around, lips stretched in the brightest smile as he all but throws himself into his boyfriend’s waiting arms, sighing when strong arms wrap around him and lift him just the slightest bit off the ground. He sighs happily into Tommy’s neck, peppering small kisses all the way up to the older man’s lips.
“Hi.”
“Hi, sweetheart.” Butterflies flutter in Buck’s stomach at the sound of Tommy’s deep voice rumbling in his ears. “How was dinner?”
“Good.” Buck mumbles against Tommy’s lips, settling further into his boyfriend’s embrace. “She was nice, but had to leave early ‘cause something came up with her mom.”
Tommy hands reach up to cup his face, bringing his head down so that soft lips can land on his birthmark. Then his nose, and finally back to his lips. Even though the kisses were chaste, they make Buck feel so very lightheaded. They’d only met barely a year ago, when Tommy had given a lecture to his class at the Fire Academy. Their eyes locked almost immediately and Buck had the hardest time concentrating on the actual lesson rather than on Tommy’s blue eyes and dimples. Afterwards, Buck may have lingered a little longer in the classroom and a rough hand may have landed on his wrist just as he was about to leave…and things progressed from there.
Now, Tommy’s arms was one of Buck’s favorite places to be.
“Home?”
“Ice cream?” Buck pouts, pulling back to look Tommy in the eyes.
“Sure, baby.”